Book Aid International

Supporting Book Aid International

For every sale or top up on our special Book Aid International card, 1% of its value is donated to the charity so that it can continue sending books around the world to communities where people do not have access to the books they need.

Around the world, millions of people live in a world with few books, or even no books at all. They cannot afford to buy books at home and in schools pupils must share just a few old textbooks. Libraries often offer the best opportunity for people to read, but even libraries often have just a few out of date books. This lack of books leaves children less able to succeed in school, prevents adults from learning throughout their lives and denies people the simple joy of reading.

Book Aid International believes that everyone should have access to books that will enrich, improve and change their lives. Every year, the charity sends around one million brand new books a year to libraries, schools, universities, hospitals, refugee camps and prisons where people would otherwise have few opportunities to access books and read. All of the books the charity sends are brand new and carefully selected to meet each community’s needs.

In an average year, the charity sends around one million books to thousands of libraries which are read by an estimated 25 million people. It costs just £2 to send another book, so every Book Aid International Book Token you purchase can help to change a life through reading. To find out more about Book Aid International visit: bookaid.org.

So far you've helped send 3,500 new books to people who need them!

Thanks to your support, our Book Aid International gift card has so far raised more than £7,000 to support the charity’s work. One of the thousands of libraries which have received books is in the Mathare slum community of Nairobi, Kenya.

Few people here are in formal employment and families live in cramped, noisy conditions. For Moses, 16, his local library provides a quiet haven for study and the books he needs to support his education:

“The moment I started coming to the library English became my favourite subject. English can make a very big difference in my life. It can be a career – and it improves my creativity and innovation.”

For Moses, access to new books is just as important as money to build houses, water pumps and roads:

“We can have so many houses, but when we don’t have books we don’t have the knowledge of how to take care of the houses. So it’s important for us to have the books because knowledge is power – and that’s the best thing to have!”